Microsoft confirmed in its earnings report for the fourth quarter of the 2014 financial year that it has officially pulled the plug on the Surface Mini.
The Surface Mini was supposed to be a 7-inch version of the company's hybrid Surface devices.
"Current year cost of revenue included Surface inventory adjustments resulting from our transition to newer generation devices and a decision to not ship a new form factor," according to Microsoft's earnings press release, stated under a part entitled "Computer and Gaming Hardware."
The "new form factor" being referred to in the statement is surely the Surface Mini.
The formal announcement of the Surface Mini by Microsoft was widely thought to have been made in May along with the Surface Pro 3. However, reports confirm that Microsoft decided to scrap the Surface Mini from the event at the last minute.
Microsoft's decision was viewed as an unexpected one, especially since the user manual for the Surface Pro 3 referenced the Surface Mini four times.
"Bluetooth technology links your Surface Pen to your Surface Mini or Surface Pro 3, so when you click the button, your Surface responds instantly," said the manual in one of the four instances when the Surface Mini was referred to.
The manual has since been updated to remove all mentions of the Surface Mini.
Microsoft's decision to pull the Surface Mini from its device offerings may have been spurred by the hostility of the market that it would be entering, which would have included Apple's iPad Mini, Google's Nexus 7 and Amazon's Kindle Fire HDX.
It was then not yet sure whether Microsoft's decision to not announce the Surface Mini means that the product has just been delayed in its release or it has been completely cancelled.
Rhoda Alexander, who monitors the activity of the display suppliers for IHS Technologies, reported that over 100,000 display panels that were smaller in size compared to the Surface Pro 3 was purchased by Microsoft over the previous year, which is possible evidence that the Surface Mini is still in Microsoft's plans.
"I don't see them purchasing that kind of volume if they've cancelled the product," said Alexander.
According to Microsoft's earnings report, the company's revenue from its Surface line for the fourth quarter was $409 million, which includes sales for the Surface 2, Surface Pro 2 and Surface Pro 3.
Microsoft reported revenue of $23.38 billion for the fourth quarter of the 2014 financial year, which ended on June 30. The company also reported an operating income of $6.48 billion and diluted earnings per share of 55 cents.
